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Nutrition

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Fat-Free & Sugar-Free Products
Something we need to watch out for these days, are foods advertising that they are "fat-free" or "sugar-free."  These terms are not metaphors for "healthy."  Healthy fats are needed in the daily diet to sustain life and regular bodily functions, like providing cell membrane structure, protecting organs and regulating body temperature.  Fat-free foods generally tend to be high in sugars, which is a diet-backlash--sugars are carbohydrates, and too many carbohydrates are easily converted into fat in the body.  In the end, that fat-free snack equals more sugar (aka, more carbs), which packs on the body fat.  A balanced meal with fat, fiber and protein is the way to go, even if the fat level is low.


As for the sugar-free products, they tend to contain sucralose and other sugar alternatives.  It's hard to say what these ingredients can do longterm, as they are new to the food industry and there has not been enough time to show the effects of longterm use.  Aspartame, another additive, on the other hand has been shown to have detrimental effects on the human body (read more about it here).  If you are trying to cut added sugars, don't keep making the foods you used to eat with Splenda or Sweet n Low, but instead, incorporate fruits into your diet (like pineapples and grapes) or use coconut sugar, date sugar, pure maple sugar, honey, brown rice syrup, molasses or stevia extract instead of granulated white sugar or brown sugar.

    7 comments:

    1. So helpful! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this up and make the information not only available but easy to digest for those of us not pursuing a degree in dietetics, haha! Love your page, keep it up! :)

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    2. This is so helpful! I'm a 15 year old high school student with a passion for healthy eating and exercise. I also plan to do a degree in nutrition. Your blog is amazing!

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    3. So many awesome helpful info here! THANK YOU :D

      You might want to check... I'm pretty sure spinach has some of it's own vitamin C, which of course helps with iron absorption.

      Another (the best) source of vitamin B is in nutritional yeast flakes, available at any health food store. Lucky it's water soluble because with just a pinch of it in my smoothies every morning my B vitamins sky rocket! My doctor couldn't believe I'm vegan haha (there isn't much B12 in many vegan foods)

      Thanks again xx Kotty
      www.facebook.com/beahappieryou

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      1. Spinach has vitamin C but there needs to be another source to help with iron absorption (like a squeeze of orange or lemon over a salad)

        Oh yeah, nutritional yeast is great! I'm so glad you incorporate that food into your diet, so many people don't know about it :(

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    4. I am curious of your opinion and what research you have done into the types of sweeteners you use. I am also a university student studying science (behavioural neuroscience and human physiology to be exact) and from what I have seen there is much conflicting research over new sweeteners such as stevia and erythritol. I am sure you have done extensive research into this since you use them so much. Have you found any negative, confirmed side effects of eating these sweeteners. Or do you believe they to be significantly healthier than regular granulated sugar?

      Thank you! When I have time/money to stock my pantry like yours I will definitely start to use some of your recipes :)

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      Replies
      1. I have done quite a bit of research regarding stevia and erythritol, and I have not found one credible study that has obtained negative/concrete evidence on the sweeteners. I do believe erythritol and stevia to be MUCH healthier than white sugar, because they do not have a large effect on blood sugar levels (helpful for diabetics), do not contribute to obesity (as they are basically calorie-free), and are not refined to the point white sugar is.

        White sugar is not only high glycemic and causes blood sugar levels to spike (and subsequently crash), but it has no nutritional value, is mass produced, increases fat gain, and is a toxin. Here is a good video to watch:

        http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7403942n&tag=api&fb_action_ids=3894495795152&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%223894495795152%22:10150930807873146%7D&action_type_map=%7B%223894495795152%22:%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

        If you don't feel comfortable consuming these products, you don't have to :) Erythritol can be substituted at a 1:1 ratio with other granulated sweeteners (preferably natural and unrefined ones, like sucanat, date sugar, maple sugar, etc). Good luck in your studies!

        -Jess

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